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Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Mississippi Comeback Sauce. An all purpose sauce that is a cross somewhere between a rémoulade sauce and Thousand Island salad dressing, great for a sandwich spread or dipping sauce. A Mississippi original!

Mississippi Comeback Sauce

Comeback Sauce, which also has some, shall we say, rather interesting alternative spellings, was birthed in the 1930s at a Greek restaurant, The Rotisserie, located in Jackson, Mississippi. Known back then as simply their house dressing, it very quickly caught on and has earned fame, spreading across the city to other restaurants and eventually across the south. Comeback Sauce is truly the queen mother of all Mississippi condiments.

Completely versatile, Comeback Sauce can be used as a burger condiment, as a sandwich spread {it is super duper yummy good on a fried baloney sandwich with caramelized onions on Whitewheat bread, oh my...}, smeared alone on simple plain saltines, used as a salad dressing, as a dip for crudités, fried green tomatoes, boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, raw, steamed or fried oysters, fried pickles, fried mushrooms, onion rings, french fries, well, just about anything really! It's a basic all around sauce that once you try, I'm sure you'll fall in love with.

Though ingredients now vary a bit from region to region, most contain some mix of mayonnaise, ketchup, chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, onion and garlic ... to start. From there, it is your own creation really, so feel free to experiment and decrease, increase or add ingredients that sound good to you. With all due respect to those who author the recipes containing only mayonnaise, ketchup and a lot of black pepper, that is not a true Comeback Sauce. It's a decent fry sauce, but it's not Comeback Sauce!

Mississippi Comeback Sauce has a more intense, layered profile and has a little bit more to it than those three ingredients! I prefer my sauce smooth, so I use garlic and onion powder, but feel free to exchange that for fresh if you prefer. Just be sure to mix it up ahead of time and give it time for the flavors to marry in the fridge, because it only gets better. Aptly named, it really is so good you'll "comeback for more."

Throw in chopped up boiled egg and a bit of sweet pickle relish and you'll have yourself a mighty fine, kicked up Thousand Island dressing.

Heinz Chili Sauce is a tomato based product, containing tomato puree, onion, garlic and other seasonings.

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Put all of the ingredients in a blender and process until well mixed. Taste and adjust for seasonings. Store in fridge for about a week. Use on everything!

Cook's Note: Worcestershire sauce can be a strong flavor for some. Start with 1/2 teaspoon and increase up to a full tablespoon, or more, to taste. For an extra spicy kick, substitute Sriracha chili sauce for the regular chili sauce. Storage time will depend on the freshness of the mayonnaise, but try to use this up in about a week or so generally. Be sure to store it in the fridge a tightly closed container, like a Mason jar if you have one and remember you can use it as a sandwich spread, on a salad, on hamburgers, as a dipping sauce for french fries and other fried foods, and it'll be gone before you know it!

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

We have a sauce sauce similar to this in our family. We use it for steaks, French fries, shrimp, Fish, fried chicken, well, most near anything. It's simply a glob of Miricle Whip, a squirt if ketchup, and several dashes of Lee & Perrin. Stir it up and dip in.

I make a very similar sauce for dipping boiled shrimp but don't measure anything since I've been making it since I was a kid and watched my Daddy mix it up when we had boiled shrimp. I use Hellmann's mayo, ketchup, Worcestershire, Louisiana hot sauce or Tabasco, fresh lemon juice and horseradish. It's some good stuff!!

hay hay, I did make some of this sauce, and its very good, maybe i added too much of something, its a teeny bit too sweet, can some one give me a suggestion as to what I could add to diminish the sweet a bit? thanxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and BLessings from the SOUTH.

I heard about this sauce from a famous chef named Cat Cora on a Food Network special a few years ago. I have made it and love to eat it on just about anything. I have also found that you can order it online already made and jarred. So simple to make, think I would rather have anything homemade, tastes so much better, if you live in the south! Thanks for the recipe! Keep up the great work you do Mary!! xoxo

I found a similar recipe on another blog that is terrific also. One cup of mayo, 1/4 cup ketchup and 2 tbls. black pepper. I don't know why but the pepper does not make it hot. It just adds a good flavor. I eat it with fries. It is sooooo good.

Hi B.J.! Well, I have seen that recipe and I'd hardly say it's similar. I disagree with its author that it qualifies as a Mississippi Comeback Sauce. In my opinion it's just basically, well, a sauce of mayonnaise & ketchup with a lot of pepper!! There's a little more to a true "Comeback Sauce" than that.

Hi Mary - I finally made your Comeback Sauce today using all the ingredients in your recipe. Oh my goodness, was it good! I see why those other recipes (with little more than mayo, ketchup and tons of pepper just don't cut it!)

I spread it liberally on BLT sandwiches. SO SO delicious. I see why it's such a keeper. I thought I'd write it up on my blog - giving you all credit, my photos, etc. Okay with you? Let me know. Thanks.

Thanks so much Carolyn - glad you enjoyed it. It's some good stuff isn't it??!! :) Course! I can't wait to see what you have to say about the differences between Mississippi Comeback sauce and mayo/ketchup/pepper sauce! Be sure to send me the link!! I'll share it on my FB page - so let me know!

Moved to Mississippi over the summer,and they serve it just about everywhere and for something so simple it really is absolutely perfect with so many things...any fried food goes well and on any sandwich that's not covered in tomato sauce already

Hello Mary, First let me say that I have been using your recipes for about two years and have never been disappointed. I grew up on what was then Delta Dr. in Jackson, I would walk past the Rotisserie, each day on my trek to and from school. I would always be awe struck by the food in the huge display windows. One of the cooks took a liking to me and each afternoon on my trip home he would greet me with an afternoon snack which consisted of a paper Dixie Cup, filled with the sauce and a portion of what ever meat was available. After the Rotisserie, closed he came to work for my dad in the construction business. After growing up and learning to cook, I asked him for the recipe. He informed me that only one man made the sauce and that he never shared the ingredients with anyone. Just yesterday I ran into my old friend Jim, he is now seventy six years young and still working, cooking, and still trying to duplicate the sauce.Thanks For The Great RecipesTerry

Hi Ann! There is Worcestershire sauce in this recipe but there is nothing that makes it sweet, other than what is in commercial ketchup and chili sauce. The only way to counter that would be to increase the acids I suppose, or make your own homemade ingredients. Hope that helps!

Hey Rosie! Though you can certainly multiple it, this recipe is a small batch mostly just for single use. I'd say if you doubled or tripled it, try to use it up within a week or two though I'm guessing it'd be fine even longer than that. Just store it in the fridge a tightly closed container, like a Mason jar. Hope that helps!

My husband and I make something very similar to this and call it "Oompa sauce." We derived the name from the color. When our friend was pregnant she ate so much of this we said her baby would turn out looking the same color as the sauce... like an Oompa Loompa from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." hahaha... hence the name Oompa sauce. We never measure, just look at the color to see if it's close to an Oompa's face. C=

My husband and I make something very similar to this and call it "Oompa sauce." We derived the name from the color. When our friend was pregnant she ate so much of this we said her baby would turn out looking the same color as the sauce... like an Oompa Loompa from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." hahaha... hence the name Oompa sauce. We never measure, just look at the color to see if it's close to an Oompa's face. C=

I love your recipes. They are all so hardy... Real Man-food!!! hahaha... I think sometimes you put Slap ya mama in everything just cuz you like the name though!!!! Too bad we cant get any of those good Cajun spices in Canada and have to settle for ones made by Hi's or mass produced ones from non southern companies. It would be nice to have a copycat recipe for Slap ya mama so we could have something similar at least. We can get Old Bay at least and sometimes you come across some of Emeril's spice mixtures. But no Zatarains or Slap ya mama etc.

LOL, probably does seem that way I guess! :) I haven't made up a copycat just simply because that brand is so readily available down here. It really is just a perfect blend of the salt and peppers, with garlic that we pretty much use it like an all purpose seasoning. It's only a suggestion really - any good brand of Cajun or Creole seasoning will do and it can also be omitted or made up with the individual salt, pepper, black and red pepper and garlic powder.

Jenny, I have had the roughest, most stressful & emotional week this week all related to trying to close on our old house & reading your comment tonight was just the lift I needed. Thank you SO much for taking the time, just at the right time tonight to stop by. I know it wasn't an coincidence & I really appreciate it. And, yes, we are loving our new house & so happy to finally be closing the door on the other one so that we can now focus on just enjoying this one!!! {{{{HUGS}}}}}

I visited "home" in Jackson MS recently and was surprised when the restaurant we were in actually served MS Comeback Sauce--- I thought that was so great---they went outside the box of the usual, Blue Cheese, Thousand Island, Ranch Dressing choices.

A long time ago when Fisherman Wharf restaurant was still on the beach (pre-hurricane) served a sauce to eat with saltine crackers while you waited for your food. I am convinced that it was at least a form of Comeback Sauce, though they didn't refer to it that way.

Hey Ashley! You know, it keeps for awhile in the fridge so I've never tried canning it though somebody may have tried at some point. Wish I could help but I'm afraid I just don't know how to advise you on that, so sorry!

Thank you for this great looking version! I use Comeback sauce for everything -- salads, sandwiches, burgers, seafood, fries, etc. Yesterday I used it to accompany rotisserie chicken. This could be Mississippi's greatest contribution to the nation!

This sauce was Amazing!! My 5 and 6 year old daughters enjoyed it as much as my husband and I:) THANK YOU for posting this recipe!A comment about canning it...I can pretty much any and everything. To can this, I would omit the mayo. There should be enough acid in the rest of the ingredients for it to not spoil. Then add the mayo before serving or the night before.Blessings,Rachel

Mary, I’ve been wanting to try your recipe for quite some time now. It’s extremely similar to what I’ve been making for the past 30+ years; with the exception of the olive oil. Mine is more like a blend of Russian and Thousand Island Dressings (including pickle relish). My friends in NY wanted me to bottle it. One asked what I’d call it? I don’t know… Crazy Ivan’s Nine Hundred Ninety-Nine Island dressing? And yes, I use it for everything; including a salad dressing.I had this sauce for the first time about a month ago in a little seafood restaurant in Florence, SC; Tubb’s Seafood. They make every sauce, batter, whatever, themselves. It was outstanding, and different than mine; although my wife disagrees. Whatever, I’ve got to try this. Thank you.God bless.

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